SK ecoplant President Park Kyung-il, KHNP President Chung Jae-hoon, and Bloom Energy Executive Vice President Sharelynn Moore attend a ceremony to sign a quadripartite MOU on the expediting of the localization of core parts of SOFC on Oct. 13. (Photo: SK ecoplant)

SK ecoplant, which declared its commitment to ramp up ESG with a focus on eco-friendliness and new energy businesses, is accelerating efforts to localize core parts of the solid oxide fuel cell, developed by Bloom Energy.

SK ecoplant struck a quadripartite MOU on the expedition of the localization of core parts of SOFC with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Bloom Energy, Bloom SK Fuel Cell, a joint-venture between SK ecoplant and Bloom Energy, on Oct. 13.

A ceremony to sign the deal took place on the sidelines of the 2021 Korea Energy Show, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at KINTEX in Ilsan, north of Seoul.

Among about 10 people on hand at the event were SK ecoplant President Park Kyung-il, KHNP President Chung Jae-hoon, Bloom Energy Executive Vice President Sharelynn Moore.

The four companies agreed to collaborate in a project to boost the localization of SOFC core parts.

The agreement calls for adding core parts of cells and stacks of the SOFC, with the world’s highest power generation efficiency, to the list of items for localization and production in Korea.

 
Under the deal, the four companies plan to designate and nurture Korean SMEs with excellent manufacturing capabilities to expedite the localization of the eco-friendly SOFC.

SMEs, designated according to the agreement, will localize core parts and supply them to Bloom SK Fuel Cell’s plant in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

The parts will be installed into Bloom Energy’s SOFC system, which is expected to be exported to the United States and other parts of the world. This will place a stepping stone for Korean SMEs to enter foreign markets.

Under the agreement, SK ecoplant will offer cooperative support for the whole of the fuel cell business project while Bloom Energy and Bloom SK Fuel Cell will be responsible for provision of technology and industry-academia collaboration to Korean fuel cell parts makers, thus contributing to the building of the Korea hydrogen ecosystem.

KHNP will be charged with helping Korean SMES developing technologies and raising their competitiveness through technology development collaboration tasks.

SK ecoplant President Park Kyung-il said, “With the agreement, the four companies will cooperate to expedite the localization of the SOFC, thus contributing to achieving Green New Deal and carbon neutrality.”

Raising SOFC capabilities of raw materials, parts and equipment industries is significant, as is building the Korean fuel cell ecosystem, pursuing shared growth with Korean parts makers, he said.

Randy Ahuja, president of Bloom SK Fuel Cell, said the MOU his company signed with the Korean companies was designed to lay the foundation for the development of the Korea hydrogen economy and it is expected to help Korean SMEs enter foreign markets by achieving the localization of the fuel cell using Bloom Energy’s innovative technologies.

KHNP President Chung Jae-hoon said KHNP will make its utmost to provide a foundation for the self-sufficiency of the fuel cell and bear fruits, as KHNP achieved nuclear self-sufficiency, and the power company will make it an example of a leap forward toward hydrogen economy society and complying with Green New Deal policies.

Meanwhile, SK ecoplant established Bloom SK Fuel Cell, a joint venture to localize the SOFC with Bloom Energy in January.

The company dedicated an SOFC plant in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, in October 2020 to produce the eco-friendly SOFC with the world’s highest power generation efficiency in Korea.

The company plans to raise the annual production capacity of the plant from 50MW in 2021 to 400MW in 2027.

SK ecoplant is Industry’s 1st Company to Top Shared Growth Index for 5th Consecutive Year

SK ecoplant was rated to top the shared growth index of the industry in a 2020 survey, conducted by the Korea Committee for Corporate Partnership, for the fifth consecutive year.

SK ecoplant was selected by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for translating shared growth into action by conducting activities such as provision of financial support to business partners grappling with the hard times, caused by the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.